Chicago

By Volodymyr Kish

My wife and I just returned from spending four wonderful days in Chicago on a mini-holiday.  Though I have been to Chicago countless times previously, the only part of this city I have ever really seen has been O’Hare International Airport, on my way to somewhere else.

A proper visit was long overdue and when I received an invitation recently from the dean of Chicago’s Ukrainian community, Myron Kuropas, to come have a proper look, I was more than happy to oblige.  The fact that we stayed with Myron and his delightful wife Lesia was an extra bonus, as it insured that there was never a dull moment.  To say that Myron Kuropas is a “character” would be an understatement.  Myron is the author of numerous books on the history of Ukrainians in the U.S., has been politically active at the highest levels of both the Ukrainian as well as the broader American political scene, and has an opinion, usually well reasoned, on almost everything.  The fact that he served in the White House as Special Assistant for Ethnic Affairs to President Ford, testifies to the fact that his opinions are not to be taken lightly.  He also makes no bones about being a staunch right-wing Republican.  The facts that I, like most Canadians, tend to be of a more “liberal” persuasion, made for some interesting discussions.  My wife quite astutely noted that finally we had encountered someone who loved to talk and pontificate as much if not more than I did!

But, to return to the main topic at hand, Chicago is the third largest city in the U.S. with a core population of 2.8 million and “Chicagoland” greater area of around 9 million people.  This compares to Toronto’s 2.5 million and greater area of about 5.6 million.  The thing that impressed me the most about Chicago is how well they have managed to preserve and develop their waterfront.  Where most of Toronto’s downtown shoreline has been desecrated by an ugly mess of condos and high-rises, Chicago’s waterfront is one, uninterrupted stretch of beautiful parkland.  No less than twenty nine beaches grace Chicago’s shores on Lake Michigan, all linked by an 18 kilometre bike and pedestrian trail.  The green space extends to far more than just the shoreline – Chicago boasts of 552 parks with a total area of approximately 30 square kilometres.  Along the periphery is a series of large nature preserves where we saw deer roaming free as we drove past.

Of course, we took time to visit Chicago’s well known “Ukrainian Village” on Chicago’s west side.  The first Ukrainians settled here in the 1890s and within several decades it had a large and thriving Ukrainian community.  In 1915, St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church (now designated a cathedral) was completed and to this day remains as one of the most impressive Ukrainian churches in North America.  The church complex also includes a large Ukrainian school, which has been revitalized in recent years by the numerous Fourth Wave Ukrainian immigrants to Chicago. Although the past few decades have seen many of the descendants of the original Ukrainian inhabitants of the area move away to the suburbs, this has been compensated to a large extent by the more recent immigrants from Ukraine, and it is estimated that the Ukrainian population of this greater west-end neighbourhood still numbers some ten thousand souls.

Barely two blocks away from St. Nicholas is SS. Volodymyr & Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church, built in 1974 after a raucous and bitter split in the Ukrainian Catholic community, brought about by the Catholic hierarchy’s decision to make the transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar.  The most impressive church by far though (to me anyway!) is the St. Joseph Ukrainian Catholic Church built not in the village itself, but in the north-western suburbs.  It is a spectacular modernistic, vertical structure containing twelve soaring dome- topped towers surrounding the main domed structure.  It is acknowledged as one of the most unique examples of church architecture in the whole world.

We spent a pleasant afternoon wandering through the village and exploring its many charms.  The Ukrainian National Museum contains an excellent collection of historical memorabilia covering Kozak times, the various liberation struggles as well as the more contemporary history of the Ukrainian community in Chicago.   The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art has a good collection of works of contemporary Ukrainian artists, both of Ukrainian and American origins, though I admit most of it was beyond my more traditionalist tastes. There is also a large Ukrainian Cultural Center, and as Myron pointed out with some delight, the SUM Hall down the street once served as the Ukrainian Labour Temple when Communists were still a force here in the early Twentieth Century.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that we had some very good sauerkraut varenyky at the Old Lviv Restaurant and wonderful coffee and desserts at the Shokolat Caf, a coffee house that would stack up well with many of the ones I used to frequent in Lviv.

All in all, it was a superb experience which I am inclined to repeat at the earliest possible opportunity.